Agreeganism is a life philosophy and way of being that leads to a plant based diet through ethical and spiritual awareness. Agreeability is a core way of being that is expressed through curiosity and seeking uplifting encounters with others.
Agreeganism has a lot to do with awareness and empathy for all sentient beings. It includes a set of values that are appropriate for the 21st century now that well over 90% of animal products come from atrocious prison like factory farms that perpetuate animal exploitation and suffering primarily in the form of separating babies from their mothers soon after birth and putting them in life long isolated confinement in cages for the vast majority of their short lives.
Agreeganism strive for similar standards as vegans but has more flexible rules for themselves. An agreegan may choose to consume animal products when presented as a gift, on a special occasion or would potentially go to waste otherwise. Agreeganism embraces the concept of agreeability, by being uplifting, aware and curious while seeking agreement and being relatable, especially with topics regarding speciesism and socially acceptable animal exploitation.
I deserve dignity, freedom and respect from myself and others. My sacredness is expressed through self reverence, expanding awareness and seeking to be present with the divine life force within myself. I am deeply grateful for the freedom to live my life, express myself fully and be with loved ones.
All sentient beings deserve the same basic respect, freedom and dignity that I want for myself. Veganism is the highest expression of this value and is an ideal to strive for rather than a title to fall short of. This is more about having the awareness of the suffering animal products cause with a strong desire to avoid them. Especially when it requires ignorance or callousness to consumer.
It is acceptable to purchase or consume animal products under certain situations with this awareness. Some of which are personal exceptions that can include social agreeability, special occasions, preventing waste, or for specific logical reason rooted in truth and awareness.
It is possible to have a symbiotic relationship with animals, such as a holistic bee keeper or having outdoor chickens and a cat. Situations that treat sentient beings as sacred are acceptable to buy from and consume. Overt animal products such as meat on bones from a factory farm repulsively violates the concept that: All sentient life is sacred.
Human rights and freedom is more important of a topic than animal rights and freedom. It important to support social justice and equality in society. The reason to also support animal rights is because humans are the ones exploiting animals unnecessarily out of ignorance and capitalistic greed.
All lives have an impact on other being and the Earth. This impact can be used to determine a sense of value and importance when making ethical decisions. There is a vague unknowable hierarchy of sentient beings that includes the animal kingdom and the food chain. Sometimes it feels innately obvious such as a cat's life is more important to care for than a mouse. It's vague because there is no set hierarchy and there are many factors to determine this hierarchy.
Plant life has important but is insignificant compares to animal life primarily because plants do not have a central nervous system, brain or sentience. Insects for the most part are also insignificant in the hierarchy.
We are not victims of our taste desires or unhealthy addictions. We are capable of changing for the better through consciously selecting the things we choose to like. Despite the fact that the first time something healthy is experienced, it is often uncomfortable or even unpleasant. Yet through conscious awareness and perseverance, it’s possible to grow to like something that is much more holistic and sustainable. Especially when it allows the letting go of something that we desire but is harmful and we never chose to like it.
We have the ability to influence others by changing our behavior to align with our values. People learn through stories and by observing others. We share stories and explain our actions that are based in these values to help others understand why agreeganism is such a beneficial way of life in the 21st century. We seek to be the type of person that we want our society to have more of. We refrain from telling others what to do, but do not shy away from sharing the truth and reasoning behind avoiding animal products.
Finding areas were there is agreement is the foundation for uplifting and productive conversations on controversial and meaningful topics. This requires curiosity in understanding other people’s perspectives and values. Agreeability is a priority especially when connecting with people who are ignorant, naive, young, irritating, irrational, close minded, speciesist, racist, dogmatically religious or include animal suffering as an aspect of their identity or masculinity. We seek to understand others so that we can declare where values align to create a more positively empowering exchange that is inclusive and uniting around relatable human values.
Once a shared value is stated by saying "I agree", it may be an appropriate time to share an agreegan value without asking them to also have it. We state the truth without needing the other to acknowledge or accept it. A follow up questions of; "Do you agree?" is out of curiosity to understand and allow the other to be heard. However they answer, it is not an invitation to convince or change behavior. To remain agreeable, state your truth and allow opposition without getting caught trying to convince others, especially if they do not show curiosity, or are agreeable.
If someone agrees with these precepts, invite them to become an agreegan. Welcome those who embrace agreeganism with open arms and uplifting energy. It feels good to be on the right side of such an important modern ethical issue our society is so ignorant about, that it is worthy of acknowledgement and honor. Agreegans and vegans celebrate being free from the mental cages of suffering that animal products perpetuate, and welcome diversity in this celebration.
"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
-Albert Einstein
Whoever agrees with these precepts and eats a primarily plant based diet can call themselves an Agreegan. It requires an awareness of the current state of humanity on Earth and how we each play a part in that story. Agreegans take responsibility for our actions and seek to do no harm to sentient beings by not purchasing animal products. It requires knowing the truth that animals are here with us not for us. Carnism is ignorant speciesism and is not something to be proud of. You don't have to be vegan to understand why veganism is so important in the 21st century. Agreegans agree with vegans, but have a unique set of exceptions with the diet that makes them not full vegan. Agreeganism is available to everyone who has a sphere of awareness big enough to reach the hidden suffering of sentient animals in factory farms. If you pay someone to do an atrocity, you are also responsible for that atrocity.
When you boycott animal products you are voting for a world free from unnecessary animal exploitation. It leads to a healthier more sustainable life and community. However animal products have played a roll in human culture in the past, it's clear now that it's the 21st century: Veganism and Agreeganism are the best perspectives particularly when it comes to dietary awareness, ethical values, speciesism, sustainability, environmentalism and consumer responsibility.
These core values effect Dietary Choices. The suffering caused by animal exploitation is inseparable from animal products from factory farms.
